Ivan Rakitić: ‘We made the impossible possible … Welcome to Barcelona’

It was supposed to be beyond the bounds of possibility, even for Barcelona.

Never before had a 4-0 first-leg deficit been overturned in the Champions League; never before had the Camp Nou borne witness to such an unlikely sporting script.

“It’s unbelievable,” midfielder Ivan Rakitić told CNN’s World Sport show a day on from Barcelona’s 6-5 aggregate victory against Paris Saint-Germain.

“It’s really hard to explain what happened yesterday; I think it was a crazy night, a crazy match and I’m so proud to be part of this team.

“We made the impossible possible.”

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READ: Sport’s greatest comebacks

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique had said it was possible but few had believed him.

Unai Emery's PSG had been utterly dominant at the Parc des Princes just three weeks ago -- appearing to end this Champions League last 16 tie as a contest.

Four goals down from the first leg, Barcelona required nothing short of a sporting miracle to have any chance of coming back.

With just two minutes of regulation time remaining, Barcelona had a 3-1 lead on the night but required a further three goals to go through after Edinson Cavani's 62nd-minute strike.

A pinpoint Neymar freekick in the 88th minute might have induced Parisian nerves but it wasn't until Luis Suarez went down in the penalty area in added time that Barcelona truly believed.

Suddenly Barcelona had the chance to make it 5-1 on the night and 5-5 on aggregate. Neymar made no mistake, setting up a grandstand finish.

Barcelona had the PSG players staggering back onto the ropes and, with more or less the final kick of the game, Sergi Roberto scored the goal that would reverberate around the world.

Staff, players and supporters could barely contain themselves. Mission impossible had been completed and Barcelona had reached the Champions League quarterfinals in a manner never seen before.

From 4-0 down to 6-5 up, Enrique -- who is leaving Barca at the end of this season -- had overseen perhaps the greatest Champions League knockout stage comeback of all time.

Champions League: Barcelona routs PSG in unbelievable comeback

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Even after racing into a 3-0 lead on the night, Barcelona still needed to score three more to reach the quarterfinals as Wednesday’s contest reached its dying minutes.

PSG striker Edinson Cavani had raced away to net what appeared to be a crucial away goal on the hour, extinguishing all but a fool’s hope.

The emboldening cries of “Sí se puede, sí se puede” (“Yes you can”) were fading as supporters steeled themselves for little more than a consolation win.

But Rakitić and his teammates never stopped dreaming.

“Of course we believed it was possible,” he enthuses “You have to believe it! You have to try; you have give everything.

“Then, after the referee blows the whistle, you can (look back) on what happened.”

Rakitić and his teammates can savor one of sport’s greatest comebacks, after Neymar scored two late goals and then set up homegrown midfielder Sergi Roberto to shake Europe’s largest stadium to its foundations.

The Croatian laughs as he recalls the scenes inside the home team’s dressing room.

“Everybody was jumping, crying,” Rakitić says. “Maybe 15-20 minutes of emotion. Thirty people – crazy people – in the dressing room.”

Barca coach Luis Enrique had told the players at halftime to “keep going” and “just believe” that 45 more minutes would afford the requisite opportunities to advance.

An ashen, defeated figure after the first leg just three weeks ago, here the Spaniard reinvigorated his charges, urging them to take their time, relax and wait for the moment to come.

Enrique would soon be racing onto the pitch in jubilation, but Rakitic says the players will not allow their celebrations to impact upon the La Liga title race in the coach’s final season at the club.

“It’s not so easy because this weekend we have another game,” he explains. “We need to take the next step and there’s not much time.

“Of course, we had a drink in the dressing room, celebrating together … but we want to keep going on in the league and we have to be ready again this weekend.”

Barca tops the domestic table by one point ahead of Sunday’s trip to Deportivo de La Coruña as it bids to defend the title, but second-placed rival Real Madrid has a game in hand.

Rakitić is keen to pay his respects to six-time French champion PSG – a club which has spent big as its Qatari owners seek to win Europe’s top prize – but admits he and his teammates “were on another level” and “really deserved really deserved to take this 6-1.”

“This is Barça,” he shrugs, suggesting the victory will serve as a warning to the team’s rivals.

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“It says ‘Welcome to Barcelona.’ I think the only team that could do something like this is us.”